Confluence Blog

01 Mar

Posted at 09:29h in Collegiate, Humanities, K-12

We live in a hyper-connected age; ours is a technology saturated society of instantaneous messaging, vast networks of streaming information and a deluge of images that give a vertiginous tinge to life and leave an overwhelming sense of relentless acceleration.  Yet, for all of the allure of our digital devices and the promise of continual connectivity, something is missing.  Since the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution, when the hope of a machine-aided utopia first took root, idealists and inventors alike have promised that technological advances would bring productivity and efficiency to the workplace, automation of distasteful, burdensome tasks and an...

25 Feb

Posted at 06:47h in Collegiate, Humanities, K-12

A liberal arts education, as a general concept, involves integrative learning—transdisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary study—through history. Such an inquisitive and broad approach to education produces well-rounded, better educated and happier, more fulfilled human beings. Many individuals throughout time, from Socrates to present, have suggested that a liberal arts education is one of the highest pursuits of humankind. In today’s world the liberal arts are usually best studied through integrative explorations in the humanities. According to the Association of American Colleges and Universities: “Integrative learning is an understanding and a disposition that a student builds across the curriculum and co-curriculum, from making simple...

06 Jan

Posted at 06:00h in Collegiate, Humanities

While human beings through time have found plenty to disagree about—politics, financial matters, family and neighborly feuds—perhaps there is no more contentious subject than religion. Though human beings through time have found plenty to disagree about—politics, financial matters, family and neighborly feuds—perhaps there is no more contentious subject than religion. Religion, understood broadly as a set of beliefs and practices meant to venerate the supernatural, is at once deeply personal and generally enacted in conjunction with a large community of fellow worshippers. Given that today the religions of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism account for the faiths of...

03 Dec

Posted at 13:44h in Humanities

Have you taken time to educate yourself about Islam, or are you terrified due to ignorance? I have heard intelligent people, people I once respected, say things like, "We should annihilate them," as their response to what westerners call "Islamic Terrorism." Granting the benefit of the doubt to people I know, and many I do not know, I think it is terrified response due to ignorance, or more cynically due to Orwellian tactics. Even the term "terrorism" abused over and over again by civil authorities, religious leaders, and the media belies an expectation on their part that the American population is too...

10 Nov

Posted at 15:36h in Collegiate, Humanities, K-12, Training and Lifelong Learning

The metaphysical concern for the origin or, reasons for persistence of, and possibilities for eradicating evil is one of the most important discussions to have in relation to human happiness. After all, how can humans thrive and be happy if their efforts are continually sabotaged by evil? Once this question is asked, deductively we come to the even larger issue with the Great Idea of “Good and Evil”—what is “good” and what is “evil” in the first place? Furthermore, an understanding of “what is evil” and “what is good” becomes metaphysically vastly more important under monotheism. After all, if there is...

29 Oct

Posted at 11:50h in Collegiate, Humanities, K-12, Training and Lifelong Learning

“When we say that something is “natural” we have certain attributes in mind. Natural speaks of purity, of goodness, of some untouched essence that is almost transcendent in its beauty and power. Inherent in this view of Nature, is that Nature is something inherent, “meant to be,” authentic while, on the other hand, that which comes from humans is artificial. So, one of the first questions to ponder as we approach the Great Idea of nature is this: Does human intervention make Nature “unnatural?” Is the Natural world, without human intervention, more pure or true? Another framework from which to view...

19 Oct

Posted at 11:38h in Collegiate, Humanities, K-12, Training and Lifelong Learning

There is, perhaps, no bigger question that human beings ask than: “Is there a God?” From this singular question stems a whole lifetime of coming to terms with your conclusions. For many of us, this simple question provokes answers that change, transform, deepen with experience and through time. Outside of this personal quest to either experience, take on faith or deny the existence of one, true God, this class also considers the cultural ramifications of faith, particularly monotheistic faith. How does a cultural tradition that, in general, embraces monotheism (even without homogeneous doctrinal practices) reflect the belief in one God?...

12 Oct

Posted at 16:53h in Collegiate, Humanities, K-12, Tips on Courseware Creation

The central educational issue this article intends to illuminate is how to conflate education in the western intellectual tradition and Open Educational Resources (OER) to make such an education available to anyone, anywhere, anytime. An education in the western tradition abounds with timeless ideas, old books, and scholars, and by nature it is slow to adopt a new influence especially if it seems hypermodern. This longstanding mistrust regarding the use of digital technology to educate youth in great ideas can and should be overcome for great advantage while assuring achievement of the intended ends of a classical education. Recent advances...

11 Oct

Posted at 03:25h in Entrepreneurship

David Havens on edSurge published a list of questions, 51 to be exact, every edtech entrepreneur must answer as they launch their products for the educational sphere. Havens explains: "For entrepreneurs--from whom pitching is inevitable--these questions offer valuable insights into the priorities and perspectives of educators and business leaders on edtech."...